


Zoutelande

by Ahhuya



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, Beach Holidays, Beach House, M/M, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, background hunay and allurance, the first part is in text messages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 09:39:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13233048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahhuya/pseuds/Ahhuya
Summary: -Noting is better than to face the cold with you-But we don’t have any money, so we visit your parents insteadDuring Winter break, Keith takes Shiro to 'meet his parents at the beach', but it's a different trip than Shiro originally expected it to be





	Zoutelande

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by the songs Zoutelande and Frankfurt Oder, if you're any good with German/Dutch then they're great songs to kinda give the idea of this fic.  
> It's also the first fic I finished in 2018 (even if it isn't that great :'D)  
> It's also clearly European based haha (and I'm sorry for the wall of text wit the texts)

> **_[older messages]_ **
> 
> **_[Lance – 15:03]_ ** _So… where’s everyone going to spend their winter break?_
> 
> **_[Hunk – 15:03]_ ** _I’m meeting Shay in London in a few days_
> 
> **_[Lance – 15:04]_ ** _Ahw, lovebirds reunited_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 15:04]_ ** _Says the one who takes Allura to Cuba to meet his family_
> 
> **_[Lance – 15:04]_ ** _Hey_
> 
> **_[Lance – 15:04]_ ** _They never met her before, they deserve to know miss blue lion_
> 
> **_[Allura – 15:05]_ ** _That continues to be the most embarrassing nickname_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 15:05]_ ** _Oh come on, it’s cute_
> 
> **_[Lance –15:05]_ ** _So Pidge, what about you?_
> 
> **_[Pidge –15:05]_ ** _Italy_
> 
> **_[Pidge –15:06]_ ** _Mom and dad wanted to go there for a while now_
> 
> **_[Pidge –15:06]_ ** _tbh it’s fine we have family there and all but I swear if anyone wants to start looking at ruins, I’m taking Matt with me to the first computer store I find and spend the rest of the vacation there_
> 
> **_[Keith –15:09]_ ** _I swear Lance, where do you find the money to go all the way to Cuba?_
> 
> **_[Lance – 15:11]_ ** _CRYPTID_
> 
> **_[Lance –15:11]_ ** _Good to see you’re still alive_
> 
> **_[Lance –15:12]_ ** _And I’ll let you know that I haven’t been in Cuba for at least 3 years, I deserve to go back there_
> 
> **_[Lance –15:12]_ ** _So…_
> 
> **_[Lance –15:12]_ ** _any vacation plans?_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 15:15]_ ** _Cryptid lives up to his name again_
> 
> **_[Hunk – 15:15]_ ** _when will we ever see him answer a question…_
> 
> **_[Me – 17:38]_ ** _Hello everyone_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:39]_ ** _SHIRO!_
> 
> **_[Lance – 17:39]_ ** _Cryptid 2.0_
> 
> **_[Shiro – 17:39]_ ** _I’m not a cryptid_
> 
> **_[Lance – 17:39]_ ** _You’re dating the cryptid though, that makes you one too_
> 
> **_[Hunk – 17:41]_ ** _We were talking about vacation plans earlier, want to answer what Keith didn’t want to?_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:42]_ ** _Yeah, where are you two going?_
> 
> **_[Lance – 17:42]_ ** _Are you going back to Japan to make us jealous again?_
> 
> **_[Shiro – 17:44]_ ** _We’re both broke so no_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:44]_ ** _No sugar granddaddy to pay for the airplane?_
> 
> **_[Me – 17:45]_ ** _Please don’t call him that_
> 
> **_[Me – 17:46]_ ** _We’re going to the beach this year_
> 
> **_[Allura – 17:46]_ ** _During winter?_
> 
> **_[Lance – 17:46]_ ** _Leave it to Keith to pick the least romantic location_
> 
> **_[Me – 17:47]_ ** _It seems we’re going to his parents, idk_
> 
> **_[Hunk – 17:48]_ ** _I didn’t know he even had parents_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:48]_ ** _Cryptids don’t need those_
> 
> **_[Me – 17:49]_ ** _He didn’t know my grandfather until last year, so why not go to his parents now_
> 
> **_[Lance – 17:49]_ ** _Please keep us updated_
> 
> **_[Me – 17:49]_ ** _Don’t you have to enjoy your own trips_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:50]_ ** _Keep_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:50]_ ** _Us_
> 
> **_[Pidge – 17:50]_ ** _Updated_

Shiro sighs as he places his phone down in his lap. They have been driving for at least three hours and without a working navigation, Keith is the only one to bring them to their destination. The original green fields that surrounded their city have made room for dried grass and dying trees. The mix of green and brown is sad, but hold its own charm.

“We’re almost there.” Keith says as he turns into a road opposite of what the sign ‘beach’ points at. The road, if the muddy path created by the combination of sand and the winter rains can be called a road, leads them away from the dunes only to bring them back to other ones instead. Keith parks the car at the bottom of a dune. Without talking, they take their bags from the trunk and start walking up a sandy track. The beach grass has already started to become brown, but holds the sand together the same way it does during summer. He can hear the sound of waves clashing on top of each other in the distance.  The gray clouds moving through the air complete the scene with their solemn look.

“We’ll probably have to deal with Lance’s great pictures from Cuba after this.” Shiro sighs as he follows Keith along a sandy trail.

“Sad we didn’t have the money to get a ticket to Spain to outdo him?” Keith laughs.

“Not at all, I got you the best anniversary gift after all. Plus, I doubt anyone can outdo Cuba.” The anniversary became a city trip to Berlin, short but fun. That there was no more money for a next trip was the inevitable result. Keith’s offer to go to the beach came as a blessing.

Keith smiles before he faces the path in front of them again. Their way circles around signs of ‘protected area’ and dried bushes that have settled along the grass. Finally Shiro gets to see the other side of the dune. The beach is short, mostly covered under the water of the upcoming tides. Just before border of sand and grass is small house set on poles to keep the flood out.

“Your parents live in such a place?” Shiro asks as he looks around. The house blends perfectly with the clouds and the sea, joining them in the melancholy.

“Well…” Keith says hesitantly, walking up a set of stairs to get to the front of the house, “not really.” He takes a small key from his pocket and only then Shiro notices the chain lock put around the front door. After some struggle it opens with a soft click and falls on the wooden steps.

The air inside is stuffy, immediately giving off the sense of abandonment of the place. The wooden floor creaks at the first step inside and Shiro fears that the poles supporting the house will give out any moment. Yet the house keeps itself together and stops making dangerous noises when Keith is deeper into the room. The place is small and as multifunctional as it can be. There is a small kitchen counter and sink at one side, a sofa on the other. In the middle of the room is a table with two chairs. A door at the side seems to lead to a bathroom. The window gives a view of the sea where the dark waves are growing restless.

“This isn’t what I expected when you said we’d go to the beach.” Shiro mutters when he’s finally able to take the entire place in. Keith nods as he walks around the place, trying to find his place in a house that is supposed to be his own.

“I’m sorry,” Keith says eventually when his mind is back in the normal world. “I should have told you what this place was like.”

Shiro just shrugs. “You said we’d go the beach, there was no lie there.” _‘You also said we’d go to your parents, but they’re not here, are they?’_ Shiro wants to add, but he decides to keep shut. “Do you even have power here?” He asks, trying the light switch at the side of the wall. The click of the switch is followed by the same darkness that the clouds covered the room in.

“We used to get power from a pavilion at the more touristic parts of the beach, but with how long it has been, I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut it off or if they went bankrupt.” Keith says as he walks to his bag. He pulls out bundle of candles and lays them on the table. “I guess this will be our source of light.”

“And the furnace?” Shiro asks, nodding towards the kitchen.

“I packed some cans of food and a burner in case gas was turned off as well. Enough for a few days at least.” He turns to Shiro with an apologetic look on his face. “I don’t think we’ll need to be here for more than that at least.”

“And a place to sleep?”

Keith points at the sofa. “It’s a pull-out. Enough room for both of us.”

The place is primitive, but the atmosphere is there, even if it’s displayed in the gray world outside.

**…**

When the sun has set the room is only illuminated by a candle and a flashlight Keith found in a kitchen cabinet. Their first dinner at sea is a bowl of soup that has barely been heated enough by the small burner Keith took with him. The mood is light, joking about what the others will be doing in their time off and what they should do themselves on a cold beach in the middle of winter. The idea of swimming is out of the question, not if Shiro can’t get a hot shower afterwards.

“I have to ask,” Shiro sighs as he lets cold water pour into the sink, over the bowls as a pure excuse of doing the dishes. Keith who has moved to the window looks up for a moment, preparing himself to give an answer that is pleasing enough, “I thought we were going to meet your parents. Where are they?”

Keith sighs. “Not here anymore.” It’s an answer Shiro expected, but hearing it falls hard. He wants to apologize, but Keith stops him before he can even open his mouth. “My mom disappeared when I was still a baby. My dad always took me here. I think he and mom used to stay here for long times. Then he died and left me this place. It’s the only thing I have left of him.”

“Is that why this is the way you let me meet your family?” Shiro asks and walks over to Keith to look out over the beach and places a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes and no.” Keith places his hand on top of Shiro’s. “I got an email a while ago that they’re taking this place down next spring. The house is abandoned and the rights my dad officially had on the land have been taken back. It’s the last time I can be here.”

“Is there no way to get it back? If money is a problem, we can cancel our summer trip and use that.”

Keith shakes his head. “The dunes are protected here, they won’t sell any of the ground, but they’re willing to compensate with some money.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Shiro says as there is no other way for him to reply. Keith doesn’t answer back. They just stand next to each other, watching the waves come and go as the tides settle down.  

**…**

That night, Shiro takes out his phone for the first time since he arrived. The place has no Wi-Fi and the lack of power has made the thing a ‘photo only’ device. When he turns on his data out of curiosity, there are a few plings of missed messages that beg to be read but are better of ignored.

The first thing appearing on his phone is a picture from Lance with Allura next to him on a sunny beach. Winter in Cuba is definitely better than a cold stormy beach. In another chat, Pidge continues to ask him on the details of the ‘special parent meeting trip’ that he decides to ignore as long as he can.

“Anything special?” Keith asks as he hands Shiro a cup of instant coffee.

“Nothing.” Shiro turns of his data and locks his phone again. With a quick kiss he forces Keith to sit next to him. The gray clouds continue to roll through the sky, but they are much of a reassurance in the combination with the calmed waves. Keith’s body warms his side and with his arm thrown around him, Shiro takes a sip of the bitter and poor coffee. It might not be the most romantic trip there is, but they are together. That on its own makes it more than worth it. The gray beach is no Cuba, Italy or London, but with the person he loves the most, it’s a heaven on earth.

**Author's Note:**

> It was kinda rushed (but when not), but I wanted to get this WIP out of my folder <3


End file.
